


Mixed Messages

by epistemology



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Don't Post To Another Site, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, Not Beta Read, jaydick-flashfic: amnesty, jaydick-flashfic:text messages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25811542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epistemology/pseuds/epistemology
Summary: No sooner had Dick waved than the man was walking over, eyes narrowed in confusion.“You’re not Artemis,” he said flatly.“Uh, what?”“I texted my friend to make a gesture so I could find her, and then you waved.”Dick believed in coincidences, to a degree, but that was pushing it.Dick and Jason meet due to an technological accident.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, past Jason Todd/Roy Harper
Comments: 18
Kudos: 200





	Mixed Messages

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on a French [short film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpp77Ksyi1w) that I watched and immediately knew I had to write a fic based on it. Enjoy!

A chime from his phone broke Dick from his stupor. He'd been staring blankly at his computer screen, hoping that the next time he glanced at the clock, it would say five, and he could leave. It still read 2:34, one minute later than what he’d thought had been at least ten minutes ago.

Dick checked his phone discreetly — his boss had never liked employees having their phones out and claimed it a sign of "laziness" and "not caring about your job." He was half right. Dick didn't care about this job anymore, only the money he got from working it ever since Bruce had cut him off. 

His phone showed a text from Wally that read: _Are you still free to help me move tomorrow?_

Dick frowned. He didn’t remember Wally mentioning a move but shot back a quick question about it after checking to make sure his boss was still down the hall in his office. Another text popped up a second later.

_Yeah, I told you the other day. Good to know I can count on you.🙄_

Dick had spoken to Wally over the phone maybe a week ago, but it’s possible he was distracted and missed it. He’d been worn thin from his job lately, and every conversation felt like a chore.

Shouting emanated from the boss’ office, and Dick glanced back — the door was closed, but someone was getting chewed out. He was allowed days off, technically, even if he had yet to take one. And spending the day hanging out with Wally sounded much better than waiting to be the next person called into that office to endure a thirty minute rant on work performance. Dick texted back, decision made.

_I’ll take tomorrow off, where u wanna meet??_

_The bakery on Washington. That way we can get breakfast before._

_great! See u then!_

The shouting grew louder as the door down the hall opened, and Dick quickly shoved his phone in his pocket. A day off was sounding more and more relaxing, even if he’d be helping Wally move all day.

*

If nothing else, the weather was perfect, not too hot with a slight breeze, bright and sunny. Dick squinted as he looked around, the sun glinting off the window of the cafe. He stood awkwardly outside the door, waiting to go in. Wally always ran late, and normally Dick wouldn’t mind, but someone else was standing a few feet away, looking about as awkward as Dick, perhaps waiting for someone too.

Dick pulled out his phone, figuring he might as well shoot Wally a quick text letting him know he’d arrived. He looked up after and made eye contact with the other man, who immediately glanced down at his own phone. Dick understood; eye contact with strangers was always uncomfortable.

Another buzz from his phone, another text, this time reading: _I’m here too… Where are you?_

Well that was odd. Maybe he’d gotten confused and come to the wrong place because Dick didn’t see Wally anywhere. There was a small public park across the street, but even after straining his neck to search it, no Wally.

The other man was looking at him curiously. God, this was embarrassing. The guy sported a leather jacket and looked ready for a date - or maybe that was just his style - and Dick couldn’t help but wonder about him. He’d always been a people watcher.

His phone buzzed.

_Make some kind of gesture._

An odd request, but Dick could comply. The man in the leather jacket had probably already guessed that Dick was lost, or at least looking for someone, so waving at thin air couldn’t be that much more embarrassing.

Except maybe it was, because no sooner had Dick waved than the man was walking over, eyes narrowed in confusion.

“You’re not Artemis,” he said flatly.

“Uh, what?”

“I texted my friend to make a gesture so I could find her, and then you waved.”

Dick believed in coincidences, to a degree, but that was pushing it.

“I’m meeting my friend here, and he just texted me that,” he explained. “Maybe both of our friends are running late?”

The man stared at him for a long moment

“Give me your phone.”

“My phone?” Dick asked, taken aback by the demanding tone and also the personal nature of the request. “Why?”

“Can I just see it?”

Dick reluctantly handed it over, unlocked, and the man held it next to his own, comparing the two screens. He leaned in, just enough so as not to make it too uncomfortable, and squinted at what he saw on the other phone.

Artemis  
  
Are you still free to help me move tomorrow?  
  
youre moving??  
  
Yeah, I told you the other day. Good to know I can count on you.🙄  
  
I’ll take tomorrow off, where u wanna meet?  
  
The bakery on Washington. That way we can get breakfast before.  
  
great! See u then! i'm here  
  
I’m here too… Where are you?  
  
Make some kind of gesture.  
  


Dick read his own texts off the other man’s screen, the conversation helpfully labelled as “Artemis,” which explained the earlier comment.

“I don’t understand,” he said. The man thrust the phone back into his hands without warning, and Dick almost dropped it in surprise.

“There’s nothing to understand. It was some kind of bug. Sorry to bother you.”

“It wasn’t your fau-” But he had already turned to leave.

It was funny, but Dick was almost disappointed to see him go. He’d been looking forward to a day with Wally, but he welcomed any excuse to get away from work, and this had been the perfect excuse. Maybe hot, leather jacket guy was a complete stranger to him, but if he went back to work now, Dick had a sinking feeling that he might lose himself there forever. Mind almost made up, he watched the man walk away for a solid five seconds before running to catch up.

“Hey, wait! Um, you still need help moving right?”

The man blinked slowly. “Uh, yeah.”

“Well, I already took the day off from work. Let me help you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“So? I’m Dick, it’s nice to meet you…” He let the question hang until the man seemed to catch his drift.

“Jason. You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. What better way to spend my day off, right?”

Jason snorted. “As long as you don’t mind. C’mon, my place is just a block away from here.”

Dick smiled, Jason shrugging his shoulders awkwardly before turning to lead the way. They walked side by side with Jason just a half a step ahead, and Dick took the opportunity to look at him a little closer. His hair was just long enough to see a soft wave peeking through, the kind of length that was fun to run your fingers through, and his skin was several shades lighter than Dick’s own. He probably sunburned easily, which could possibly explain the jacket that Jason had yet to remove, even if Dick’s was already slung over his arm.

“So Jason, what do you do for work, then?”

“I’m kind of in between jobs currently,” he said, and Dick thought that was his cue to drop the subject until, “I’m actually a writer. I’m working on a novel right now.”

“A novel? Really? That’s cool!”

Jason smiled a quick smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, but it’s still in the works. What about you?”

“Oh, I just work at a boring company doing boring work. Human resources, actually. Nothing interesting like you.”

“It’s not really that interesting. This is my place.” He stopped at a small apartment building nestled between two larger ones. It looked nice. Dick wondered why he was moving.

The inside spoke of a place that was once the main event but had since become run down and overshadowed. The old fashioned carpeting and ancient looking chandelier must have been beautiful once, but years of inattention had lent to a stuffy, vintage feel. A large staircase dominated the front room, which Dick admired until he noticed there was no elevator. 

“My place is on the top floor,” Jason cut in, eyes sympathetic in a way that said  _ you can still back out now if you want _ . 

Dick nodded, determined. “Let’s do this.”

The first few trips were easy. Silverware and bedding. They talked, Dick coaxing Jason out of his shell more and more until they were laughing in a way that made him forget he’d planned to spend the day with his long-time best friend. He reached for another box, this one with a strange label.

“Roy?” he read.

Jason turned from whatever box he’d been adding more tape to. “Give me that one.”

“Who’s Roy?” Dick asked. He let Jason take the box from his hands, and despite its lighter weight, Jason seemed to sink the moment he touched it.

“No one. He’s- He was my boyfriend. That’s why I’m moving out.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” And what else could he say to that? They were practically strangers, even if they had spent the morning getting to know each other, and there was nothing Dick could say or do to comfort a man he hardly knew.

“It’s okay. It’s been a few weeks now. I’ve just been trying to get the move finalized, you know? And it wasn’t a bad breakup or anything. He was just- We were friends for a while before, and-”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Dick said. He settled on placing a comforting hand on Jason’s shoulder. Casual, safe.

Jason breathed in slowly, only looking at Dick when he exhaled. "Thanks.” He paused, and neither of them said anything. “Oh, hey, that’s my novel by the way.”

Dick’s gaze followed Jason’s to a large stack of loose leaf papers arranged carefully on the only remaining table in the room.

“I printed it off recently for revisions. It’s only part one though. There’ll be a part two someday, maybe.”

Dick reached out to trace his fingers along the top sheet. “Can I?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m just gonna take this down.”

Jason disappeared down the stairs, along with the Roy box, and Dick found himself enthralled in the story contained in those sheets of printer paper. After the first three pages he found himself sitting down at the small card table that was left, lost to the world around him. Jason came back up, at some point, and somewhere in Dick’s mind he knew he should offer to help carry more boxes down — that was why he had come in the first place — but he’d long since been claimed by the intense desire of  _ what happens next _ .

“Dick.”

His eyes snapped up from the page to meet Jason’s, which looked a little annoyed but mostly amused. Dick glanced to the table to see the growing stack of pages he’d already read compared with the few he had left in his hand. He looked back at Jason, embarrassed. 

“It’s really good,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“You should write the next part!”

“Maybe after I’m done moving. I need to get the table. It’s the only thing left.”

And sure enough, when Dick looked around the apartment, it was empty, boxes long gone and carried away by Jason without his help.

He looked away sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry."

"Not a problem." And to his credit, Jason smiled. He had a nice smile, Dick noticed. "The fridge is still in the other room though, so you can get that ready while I take this stuff down."

Jason walked off, card table folded up and hefted under one arm, the chair under the other, and when had he taken off his jacket? Dick stood there, admiring the simplicity of his muscles at work before he disappeared out the door.

There were three things that Dick knew: one, he was definitely at least somewhat attracted to Jason. This wasn't a problem on its own, and it wasn't surprising — Jason was good-looking, talented, and smart, and the two of them seemed to get along well so far.

The second thing Dick knew was that Jason was into guys. While that didn't necessarily mean he was into Dick, he'd already mentioned an ex-boyfriend, and it was nice to know Dick had a chance.

And that brought him to the third thing. Jason had recently broken up with said ex-boyfriend, and he obviously wasn't completely over it.

Dick huffed a sigh and got to work unplugging the fridge, managing to move it away from the wall and into the main room by the time Jason returned.

“How do you want to do this?” He asked.

Jason moved to a squat and grasped the bottom of the fridge. “Lift on three. I’ll go backwards. No, I don’t mind,” he cut off Dick’s protests. “Ready?”

Dick nodded.

“Okay. One, two, three.”

They lifted together, the fridge making a rattling noise as they did so. Dick glanced over Jason’s shoulder at the stairs as they neared; it was a long way down.

The fridge rattled again as they let it drop the last inch with a soft thud. Dick straightened, out of breath, and then made the mistake of looking at Jason. A layer of sweat coated his skin, and it really should have been gross, but Dick couldn’t focus on anything other than the hard muscle that seemed to cover every inch of his body.

“Fuck, it’s hot!”

Dick swallowed, throat suddenly dry, and opened the fridge, grabbing two water bottles, still cold despite it having been unplugged for the last few minutes.

Jason grabbed his, downed half of it, then looked from Dick to his fridge, eyes wide. “That wasn’t empty?”

“Uh, no…”

Jason stared for another few seconds before snorting a laugh. “What the fuck, man? We just carried a full fridge down four flights of stairs! When I told you to get it ready, I meant to fucking empty it!”

“I… got distracted,” Dick defended.

“Whatever, man.” Jason was still laughing. “That’s the last of it though, so unless you wanna help me move in too, you can leave.”

It was an easy out that any polite stranger would have taken, but Dick didn’t want to leave Jason now. He could go back to work, forget about Jason, and continue a suffocating life of clocking in and clocking out.

“I’m good to keep going as long as you want me here.”

Jason smiled. “Thanks. That’d be nice.”

*

The new building had an elevator. Dick liked it already. The feeling of riding up to the third floor and only having to walk a short distance to reach the door almost made up for the number of trips up and down the stairs he’d made earlier. Almost.

Jason unlocked the door and held it open for Dick. “So here it is.”

“Oh, it’s, uh….”

“It’s shit,” Jason cut in.

“I was going to say small!”

One step inside and Dick could already feel the walls closing in on him. He looked around the one room studio, ignoring Jason gauging his reaction from the corner of his eye, and found a single open area and something that could barely be called a kitchen, with a small door off to the side that Dick could only hope led to a bathroom. It was new, in a very modern style, nicer than the old building had been but still not anywhere near the price range of Dick’s own place.

“So why did you leave your old place?” 

Jason shrugged. “I don’t have the money anymore since I’ve basically been living off savings while writing my novel. I have a few odd jobs and freelance stuff, but it’s not enough to live off of.”

“Well, I’m sure your book’ll make plenty of money once it’s published, and then you can buy something bigger!”

Dick had meant it as encouragement, but Jason turned away to set the box he’d been carrying on the miniscule kitchen counter. “I don’t think I’ll ever finish the book,” he said.

“What? Why not?”

“I’ve just lost too much time, I guess. I barely have any money, and I don’t even know if anyone’ll actually be into it, so I made the decision a few days ago. I’m giving up on my book.”

Dick’s stomach dropped. “Why?”

“Why not? Look at me.” Jason gestured both to himself and the cramped room around them. “I’m broke, I broke up with my boyfriend, I’m moving… I actually have a job interview tomorrow with my old boss for some office job anyways, so I won’t have any time.”

Righteous indignation flooded Dick’s being, and he was suddenly struck with the urge to shout until Jason understood exactly what half his book had inspired in him. “You can’t just give up now! You have to finish that book, Jason! For me, for everyone, and most importantly, for you! Don’t forget I read what you’ve got so far, and even I can tell you’ve poured your soul into that thing!”

“I don’t have a choice-”

“Is it a money problem?” Dick interrupted. “Because if it’s a money problem, my foster dad is actually kind of rich. I’ve sort of been on the outs with him recently, but all he wants is an apology, so I could easily get you the-”

“Dick! Just- No, okay? No.”

Dick’s anger sharpened at the defeat in Jason’s voice. Maybe he was being selfish, but he needed to finish that book. “Fine. I quit.”

“What?”

Dick let the box he’d been holding fall to the floor with a thud. “I’m leaving. You’ve given up, so I do too. Have fun moving the rest on your own.”

“What? Dick, wait!”

“Say you’ll finish the book and I’ll come back,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

“Dick!”

Dick kept walking. “Nope, I’m leaving. Bye!”

He made it to the bottom of the steps before he heard Jason call from somewhere behind him, “Fine, okay! I’ll finish it!”

Dick could feel the corners of his mouth tilting up. He turned around. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Gimme your phone.”

Jason looked as taken aback as Dick imagined he had when Jason had made the same demand earlier, but he handed it over without a fight. Dick typed something quickly and handed it back.

“You just called my boss an asshole!”

“Your old boss,” Dick clarified. “You are your own boss now. C’mon, let’s finish moving!”

“You’re crazy!”

Dick let Jason brush past him as he led the way out the door, the bare skin of their arms making contact in a way that might not have been an accident.

“You’ll thank me for it.”

“You just wish you’d sent that to your own boss, isn’t that right?” Jason asked.

“Maybe.”

“Did it at least feel good?”

“Hell yeah.”

The afternoon passed quickly after that, stacks of boxes filling the already small space until the couch was the only place of refuge from the mess. Jason collapsed on one end, Dick on the other, legs stretched out on top of Jason’s lap.

“You want me to stay and help you unpack?”

A look of surprise crossed Jason’s face before he gave a soft smile. “Nah, it’s okay. You’ve been here all day.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Dick said, hoping his eagerness conveyed how he actually felt.

“It’s fine, Dick. I’ll probably unpack slowly over the next few days anyway.”

“Can I least give you my real number, then?”

“Don’t I—” Jason started. “Oh, right. I guess I don’t have your number.” He pulled out his phone and tossed it across the couch. It hit Dick right in the stomach, and he threw a fake glare at Jason before typing in his contact information and then shooting himself a text.

“There. Now we can stay in touch,” Dick said. “If you want, that is.”

Jason smiled again, and Dick found himself helplessly smiling back. “Yeah, I want.”

*

“Jason, we’re gonna be late! Hurry up!”

Dick took one last look in the mirror, mentally congratulating himself on his outfit choice, and then made his way towards the front door of the apartment, keys in hand. The new place was nicer than any of his or Jason’s past ones, but that was what happened when you had Bruce Wayne insisting on helping you. The reconciliation had been rough, but Dick could now look back on the whole period with a newfound respect for his foster father and for himself. They had both shown maturity and consideration for the other, with Alfred’s help of course.

“I can’t find my fucking wallet,” Jason grumbled from somewhere in the bedroom.

“Did you leave it in your other pants?” Dick called.

A pause, and then- “Fucking hell. Thanks!”

Jason appeared moments later, all dressed up in a way Dick didn’t get to see him normally. Lord knows he was obsessed with that leather jacket. He pat his pockets as he walked — probably cataloguing everything in his head to make sure he didn’t leave anything important behind.

Dick stopped him as he reached the door, sliding his arms up Jason’s chest and around his neck, placing a kiss on his lips. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered.

Jason rolled his eyes, face red, and Dick couldn’t resist giving him another peck on the cheek. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“And don’t you forget it. Now, let’s get your ass on over to your first book signing and wow that crowd!”

Jason opened the door, and as Dick turned to lock it, he took one last look around the apartment — their apartment — and smiled at the place they’d come to call home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](https://epistemologys.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
